Tying Up Loose Ends
by MistyWolfe
Summary: Set between scene when Earth is returned home and when the Doctor drops Rose and TenII off at Bad Wolf Bay. The two Doctors have a talk that I think explains a lot left out of the series. Makes Bad Wolf Bay more bearable     My first fic Please Review!


The New Doctor smiled and hugged Sarah Jane one more time, laughing and watching his friends celebrate. His friends. How he loved them all. Such remarkable humans. He was so happy to see them all in one place, smiling and laughing together. He would miss them so much.

Stepping back from the excitement for a moment, he couldn't help but think about what was to come. He considered Donna from his position at the edge of the console room. Brave, tenacious, lovely Donna Noble... his best friend. He was going to miss her most of all. He owed her his life in so many ways... His human life. It was funny how he had almost forgotten about being human now.

He placed a hand over the single heart beating in his chest and suddenly felt the need to be alone. As happy as he was to be there with everyone, it was bittersweet. It hurt too much to think about all of the impending goodbyes, just around the corner. He knew this would be the last time he would see any of them.

He began to feel tears building behind his eyes, so he watched his companions for just a moment longer before quietly slipping away to the medical lab. He needed to run some tests on this new body anyway. He was still not entirely sure what his strengths and limitations were.

The Doctor was the only one to notice his duplicate's departure, but he didn't follow right away, knowing all too well the other Doctor needed some time.

* * *

Almost an hour later, the Doctor left the party in the console room, and strode distractedly down the halls of his beloved ship. It was inevitable. He had to speak to his other self. He knew that the other Doctor was completely aware of what must happen. It was the best solution for everyone... Rose would be happy. His other self would be content, and he... He would survive. He always did.

"Hey." The Doctor knocked lightly on the door frame as he entered the TARDIS med bay.

"Hi. " The New Doctor answered quietly from where he sat on the edge of a table. Neither of them met the others eyes. The New Doctor watched as his blood drained into a syringe piercing his left forearm. They allowed the silence to linger for a moment and the Doctor walked across the room to stare at one of the many monitors.

"So... " He ventured uncomfortably. "What have you discovered about your new, new body then?"

The New Doctor stood and carefully placed the blood he had drawn into small glass vial. "Blood pressure is normal. One heart–you have no idea how strange that feels–beating normally. No respiratory bypass, but other than that... Well... I'm not sure..." He let the sentence fall away helplessly as he walked over to a machine at the edge of the room. He placed the vial of blood into it and pressed a few buttons.

"Can you still see the time-lines?" The Doctor asked quietly without looking up.

The New Doctor took a deep breath and let it out as he ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Yes and no. I can see them, but they are somewhat... I don't know... Fuzzy." He turned to face his other self who was watching him with an unreadable expression. "I still have most of my senses. All of my senses really; taste, touch, smell, telepathy. All the same as before. But my time-sense is just... blurry."

The machine began to beep and they simultaneously turned to look at the screen. It confirmed what they had both suspected. His cells were aging at the same rate as a human's. The New Doctor was going to have a human life span. He was going to age and then one day die.

The Doctor approached him slowly with his hands held out. "May I?" He gestured towards the other man's temples and received a nod. Closing his eyes, the Doctor placed his hands upon his duplicate's face and entered his mind, not entirely sure what he was searching for. Then he spoke without breaking contact, "You know what has to happen..." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah. Neither of us gets entirely what we want. Same as always..." He let the bitterness drip from his voice as he said it. Was that the human in him? It sounded so self-absorbed even to his own ears.

The Doctor lowered his hands and opened his eyes. "You'll finally be able to love our Rose. Finally have the life we never could–"

"Yes." The New Doctor said, bitterness replaced by sadness now, "And that's wonderful. It is what I want. It is. But we'll be stuck in one time and one place. And you'll have this life, with all of time and space spread out ahead of you. You'll get to–"

"–stay with the TARDIS." The Doctor finished his sentence with the same sadness, "But I have to let go of the woman we love... again."

"Do you think Rose will go for it?".

The Doctor turned away. "No. But we can't give her a choice. Her family needs her. She needs them. I can't take her away from all of that." He stepped away and looked back at the other Doctor. "She'll have them, and she'll have you."

"She wants you. Not me." The New Doctor whispered and turned to leave. These were going to be his last moments aboard his TARDIS, his home, his one constant companion through all the years. He wanted some time to say good-bye. He paused in the doorway with his hand on a coral column when the Doctor spoke again.

"She'll understand. Eventually. We're the same. If she loves me then she has to love you." He knew the other man understood but he continued anyway, now feeling the tears welling in his own eyes."You'll be able to give her all the things she deserves, a proper home...children. The things I always wished I could give her but never could." He paused then added barely audible, "You will take care of her...?"

"Of course."

"And tell her... Tell her from me as well..."

"Yes."

They shared one last look and the New Doctor left to walk the halls and say goodbye to his ship.


End file.
